Bless the Broken Road
by Doctor Ella
Summary: Last chapter finally up ! Faith brings Bosco home from the hospital, and recurring nightmares of the shooting bring him to a certain realization... BF
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Third Watch or any of the characters associated.

Chapter 1

I stepped out of 55-David with a smile on my face. I couldn't believe that Faith had done all this for me, but I was glad, nonetheless. I had been anxious to get out of that hospital for the longest time, and I was happy enough when Faith and Emily showed up to take me home… But she had gone all out for me. She had brought back our car and called me partner, something that I'll be forever grateful for.

I took a minute after I had shut the door to look up at the sky and breathe in the cool city air. I never thought that I would miss being outdoors as much as I did. I guess that 'you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone' saying is really true. I was starting to realize that in more than one aspect.

"You know, breathin' in New York City like that has got to be a setback in your recovery, Bos." Faith stated wittingly.

I smiled at having my sarcastic partner back and telling me what I should and shouldn't be doin'. I missed that. "What was I thinkin'?" I laughed as I turned my head around to see my home for the first time in half a year.

Had it really been that long? A half a year. A half a _year_. I had been laying in that bed, hangin' on for my life, almost wasting away for that long. What a waste.

"Here we are," I said, "Home."

* * *

"Maurice honey can I get you anything?" Ma asked for the third time. I really appreciated the concern and all, but all the babying she was still givin' me had to go.

"Ma. Stop. I'm fine." I said firmly but gently. I knew she was just concerned now that I was back 'on my own', but I didn't want her acting like I was some kind of invalid. I had gotten plenty of that at the hospital. This was my time to prove to everyone that I _could _do things on my own. Prove it to myself, even.

Faith laughed at my barely less-than-snappy reaction to my Ma and gave me that 'you're too much' look. It was good to be back.

"Hey guys, I really appreciate you all takin' me home and comin' over, and everything, but I'm kinda tired…"

"Oh, yeah. Emily and I should probably get going. Um, I have to pick up Charlie at six." Faith cleared her throat, trying to come up with an excuse for herself.

"Ma, you should probably get goin' too. I don't want you doin' anything more than you have to. You've already done so much. Thank you." I tried to persuade her.

"Maurice, you know well enough that I'm staying here with you. I'm not about to let you stay here by yourself after just getting released - "

"Ma." I softly cut her off, not even needing to say the words. She knew that I wanted to be left alone so I could finally feel independent, but I didn't have the heart to say 'Ma, leave', so instead, I just gave her that look. She knows the look. It's the one where I kind of just stare with pleading eyes that say "Please, Mommy?"

Faith knows that look well.

Ma sighed her defeated sigh and agreed to leave. "But don't you dare hesitate to call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Of course, Ma." I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and then looked over to see Faith and Emily waiting at the door. I walked over to them, careful not to hurt my already throbbing leg, and stood in front of faith. "Thank you, Faith." I said sincerely. "Thank you so much. For everything." I made sure to look her in the eye to insure that she knew that I meant it. I really meant it with all my heart. I couldn't have made it this far if she hadn't been there.

"Of course, Bosco." Faith smiled and leaned in to hug me. We had never hugged before that day. Never. For being partners, and best friends for as long as we had been, I'd say thirteen years is much overdue.

"I'll stop by tomorrow, that alright?" She asked before leaving.

"Of course. That'd be great. We could… catch up." I smiled at how unlike me that was. 'Catch up'? Since when did I say 'catch up'?

"Bye Bosco. I'm glad you're feeling better." Emily chimed in, "Can I call you sometime? Just see how things are going, you know?"

"Yeah, of course, Em," I answered, suddenly starting to realize how truly tired I was. "You can call any time."

Faith and Emily turned around after each giving me a little 'bye for now' smile and headed out. "Oh, um, Bosco?" Emily turned around before she had gotten fully out the door. "I just, um… I wanted to say…" She paused for a minute while I waited for her to finish. Upon looking down at her feet in shame, she finished, "Sorry… About earlier. Um, I didn't mean to… I mean, I was just - "

"Em, it's ok."

She looked back up to me to make sure I meant it, and I did. "Okay, um… Take care."

* * *

After having had to stay in bed every day for six months, I thought that I was totally slept out, but damn, was I wrong. I hadn't been as tired as I was after being taken home than I had been all throughout my recovery. I about collapsed onto my bed the minute I stepped inside my room. My bed. I hadn't realized how uncomfortable those hospital beds had been, considering I had gotten used to them, but my bed was so welcoming. I swear the minute my head hit the pillow, I was out. 

I fell into what was, at first, a very peaceful, needed sleep. No constant checking of monitors and waking me up every twenty minutes to make sure I was still breathing. It was just total, pure, comfortable sleep.

And then it started.

I was pacing around the room in complete frustration. What the hell was going on? That's what I was trying to figure out. Too many things were happening at once; everyone was confused, but most importantly, we were beginning to figure it all out.

"Son of a bitch. Hurt my whole team trying to get to me…except Yoshi." Cruz finally admitted to herself.

Davis stood in the corner, rubbing at his eyes "Yoshi's all right?" He asked, looking at the ground.

"Yoshi didn't get hurt at the wake." Cruz almost asked, confused. Things weren't fitting together. Something was missing, and everyone was starting to realize that. I continued pacing the room up and down, trying to figure everything out.

"I don't remember seeing Yoshi at the wake." Davis added, trying to make sense of things, if not only in his own mind.

I looked over at Faith, who was trying to process everything that was going on. "Yeah, me neither." She added in.

What was this big deal with Yoshi? Why did it matter? There had been three bombings in the same day effecting OUR precinct; killing some of our team, and all they wanted to talk about was whether or not Yoshi had shown up to the wake.

"Yoshi wasn't-"

"Oh, who cares about Yoshi!" I yelled, cutting off Cruz before she could go on about Yoshi any more. "What are we gonna do about this son of a bitch Mann? That's what I wanna know." I finished, angrily, running my hands through my hair in frustration.

"We're gonna be smart." I shook my head in disbelief. Did she not understand what was going on? Did she honestly think that we could 'be smart?' Look at how much good that had done for us so far. "We're gonna find out all the information that Laura had on him. We're gonna start locking people up one by one until someone gives him to us." Cruz with her little 'we can save the world one perp at a time' attitude, chimed in. She really thought it was that easy. She honestly thought that by locking people up, we fix this mess without anyone else getting hurt in the meantime? I tell you what, if she really thought it'd be that simple, she's got another thing comin'.

"You don't go to war with the New York City Police Department."

It was too late for that; this was already war. Whether or not she would accept that, we were already in a damn war. And we were losing.

I was back to my pacing and trying to think of what we should do next, when I heard Faith.

"Hey guys…"

Her voice sounded different. She wasn't trying to cut us off, and she wasn't about to give some kind of idea. She sounded scared. Really scared.

I looked at her and saw that she was looking at the windows. "Guys!" As I turned around to see what she was looking at, everything started to happen in slow motion. I saw the men; I saw the guns… And when I saw that last man stop at the window, pointing the gun in our direction, I immediately panicked.

Faith. Where was Faith? I had to get to her; protect her. I wasn't about to let her get hurt again. There was no way. I quickly grabbed her when I saw her standing up, and took a long leap behind the chairs, hoping that maybe they, along with my body in front of hers, would be at least some kind of shield between her and the bullets.

I was right. I shielded her; I protected her, and that's all I cared about. I felt the bullets one right after the other. My leg, my stomach. It hurt so bad. My chest… Was Faith alright?

My face…

I awoke with a gasp. "Faith!" I frantically looked around, trying to find her, but I never did… I was at home… It was a dream.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was laying on my bed holding my stress ball like I had been doing for the past month or so. Nothing to do. I looked at the clock for what must have been the tenth time in ten minutes. Noon. 'I should get up.' I thought to myself. 'I should eat.' But I didn't feel like it. I just wanted to lie in bed and sleep. Just a good night's sleep and I would be able to do anything, but I hadn't gotten that yet. After that dream I had, I wasn't able to go back to sleep, which means, if I've done the math correctly, I had only gotten about three, maybe four hours of sleep since I'd gotten home. Not what you'd call a fresh start.

I let out a defeated sigh and carefully rolled myself out of bed. I walked sleepily to the bathroom and leaned my aching body against the sink, my head tilted towards the ground. After letting out a deep breath and rubbing at my sleep-deprived eyes, I looked around the counter for my meds. I hated having to take them, but I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to function. I poured out two of the small pills into my slightly shaking hand and took them as I turned around to turn the shower faucet. I was looking forward to taking a shower. Is that lame? I mean, I guess it can't be _that_ bad, considering…

Sponge baths really suck.

I stepped into the steamy water after having carefully taken off the white gauze that seemed to be holding my face together. I hated taking it off. I hated seeing what was underneath it… But who could blame me? I was hideous.

I stretched my arms out in front of me, letting my full body's weight be supported by the wet wall of the shower, and let the hot water run down my aching face. It felt good; soothing. I turned around, now letting the water run gently down my sore back. I couldn't help but look down at my stomach to see the deep scar that had been so truculently inflicted by that second bullet. Looking lower, at my leg, I caught site of the even bigger scar that had been left there after my surgery. Scars everywhere. Everywhere I looked, it was all I saw; all anyone saw.

Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and quickly wiped myself dry. Having wrapped the warm towel around my waist, I took one last look in the mirror, bringing my hand up to touch my face. "Damn."

I walked out of the bathroom and back into my bedroom, where I immediately had to sit down. I was already worn out completely from having to stand for that long in the shower, and then having to walk from there to my room… This was going to be a long day.

Tap tap tap. There was a knock at the door. 'Faith.' I thought. She had said yesterday that she was going to come over, but I thought maybe she would call first. I hurried to zip up my jeans and carefully pull on a white tee and made my way over to the door.

I unlocked the deadbolt, and then the handle, and opened the door to see Faith standing at my door. She had a smile on her face.

"What?" I asked defensively. "What, do I have a booger or somethin'?" I wiped at my nose to make sure there was nothin' there, and watched Faith laugh at my over-reaction.

"Nothin', Bos." She stepped inside as I moved to let her come in. She looked around my place as if she were some kind of home-inspector or something, checking the walls, the couch… pretty much just scanning the room. What was this, some kind of home makeover show?

"Sorry 'bout the place. I haven't really… well… gotten a chance to straighten up some stuff." I said, hoping that would make up for any rudeness due to the mess.

"Oh," She laughed, "No, it's fine, Bosco. How ya doin'?" She asked, setting down her purse and making herself comfortable on the couch. It was weird, I don't think Faith had ever come over to my place like this before. It was nice; almost natural.

"I'm doin' alright, you know. Got a shower this morning'… I tell ya what, after six months of sponge baths, you'd be surprised at how much you miss a simple shower." I laughed at myself and sat down next to Faith.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Stupid. That was stupid of me. Of course she knew what I meant. She had been in the same situation a year before… I sighed and shifted my weight uncomfortably upon realizing my mistake, but Faith just shrugged it off like it was nothing. I appreciated that.

We sat there for a little while, just looking at each other quietly. I don't think I had ever been so glad to see her in my life, aside from the day she had been shot. It was finally starting to hit me that I was lucky to even be able to see her at all…

"It's healin' up well."

I didn't understand what she meant at first, until I noticed her eyes shift over to the right side of my face. _My face_. I hadn't covered it up after my shower that morning. _Damn it_. I reflexively shot my hand up to cover the unsightly scar and started to stand, darting my eyes around the room, searching for a place to quickly hide myself. I was completely embarrassed…

"No, Bosco." Faith protested at my standing, but, regardless, I started walking towards my bedroom. "Bos, wait a minute!" Faith jumped up off the couch to chase after me. I felt her hand on my back, gently edging me to stop… so I did. I lowered my face to the ground, not even bothering to turn around. I didn't want to face her. _I didn't want her to see my face._

"Bosco, look at me." She walked around to the front of me, realizing that I wasn't going to be turning to her any time soon. I was still looking down at my feet, hoping that maybe with my head at that angle, I could hide from it. Hide from myself, if you will.

"You need to stop this, okay? It's me, Bosco. What are you tryin' to hide from, huh? A scar?" She was looking at me now, really looking. I could feel the deep stare almost burn a hole in me. "A scar that'll do nothing but remind me of how you risked… almost gave up your life to protect me?"

She put her hand to my chin, pulling my head back up at eye level with hers. I finally brought my eyes up, forcing myself to look at her. She was honest-to-God serious... She seemed almost sad. "You don't have to hide, Bosco." She whispered.

Normally I would have pulled away from her; headed back in the other direction. I've never been good at all this 'heartfelt' stuff, but for whatever reason, this time felt different. Faith was looking me straight in the eye and telling me the truth, and I was finally willing to listen.

She was right.

What did I have to hide from her? What had I _ever_ needed to hide from Faith? Nothing. Simple as that. Absolutely nothing ever needed to kept secret in our partnership… our friendship… our…..

We had tried that card before; tried hidin' things from each other, and where did that get us? Shot.

I saw a tear slide down her cheek. She was still gazing at me, holding my chin with her hand, but now, along with the no-nonsense sincerity, there were tears. Why was she crying? Was I really that important to her? I can't even try to imagine why I would be… but it was all in her face; all in her tears.

"Don't do that again." She said, gently.

"I'll tell you everything."

"No, don't get _hurt_ again."

It's funny how things turn out, isn't it?

Faith left soon after that. I guess we both thought it was too weird for her to stay any longer after what had just happened… we'd never been that close before; never had a conversation that meant as much. I mean, I always knew it was there, I just didn't… I don't think either of us knew how to show it.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to sort through my mind what was going on with me. I was so confused about everything. It's almost as if I'd had some sort of revelation or somethin' while I was rottin' in that hospital. I had had time to think about things. A little _too _much time, I think.

What was goin' on with me? I had never felt like this before, but I didn't even know what it was. All I could gather up in my damaged brain of mine was that what I was feeling… it was good. It wasn't like anything I'd felt in the past two years. There was no pain, no sadness, no guilt… but it wasn't happiness. I wasn't happy; I wasn't sure what was going to happen to me; if I'd go back to work or not; if I'd ever get over this horrible scar on my face… It wasn't happiness.

It was faith.

….._Now things make sense_…..

Faith.

I think… No, I _know_ that I'd been avoiding my feelings about Faith since I met her. I knew that she was my partner, and because of that, I'd do anything to protect her. **_I'm your partner. I was there for you. I'll always be there for you. _**I knew that she was my best friend; my only friend, and because of that, I loved her. Any decent person loves their best friend, right?

But… is that it? Does it end there? For the past thirteen years, my answer had been simply yes. 'Of course it ends there. **_I've been watching you._** She's Faith. **_Really? I'm flattered. But I'm married. _**She's married. **_You didn't think I'd go all out for my partner? _**She's your partner… I'm just getting confused is all.'

Had I just been kiddin' myself? We knew each other inside out. Every little thought, every secret, every fact, every single emotion… **_I can talk to her without ever talking. _**Everything.

Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

I didn't know. I didn't understand anything that I was trying to figure out that night. All my thoughts just sort of blurred together into one big blob… The only thing that was clear was Faith. But what did it mean?

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Maurice, honey, do you want bread with your spaghetti?" Ma was at my place again, cooking dinner for the two of us. She had made it a point to come by almost every night, and it had started to become routine for us to sit down together and have a home-cooked meal. Something I rarely had when I was a kid.

"Yeah Ma, that'll be fine." She smiled and turned back around to continue cooking. "You know you don't have to do this, right? I mean, it's real nice, and I love havin' dinner with you, but you don't have to cook. I mean, we could order some-"

"Don't be silly, Maurice. You deserve some good meals after having been fed all that hospital food… Besides… I like to cook."

I laughed at the statement, knowing full well that it was far from the truth. "Ma, you hate cooking."

Ma smiled, knowing that I wouldn't believe her, "Well, I can learn." She soon turned off the oven and took the warm, toasted bread and sat it on the counter. "Okay, all ready." She put the spaghetti and a couple pieces of bread on two plates and brought them to the table where I was already seated.

We sat quiet for a few minutes, just plainly enjoying the good food when Ma spoke up.

"You look well, Maurice."

"I'm glad to be home." I quickly replied. It was the truth; just simply being back home had made me feel a whole lot better.

I turned back to my food and continued to eat. It was so good; so full of substance and gratifying immense flavor. Definitely more than I could say about the "food" that I had been given for the past six months. It's crazy how much you notice after having been deprived of the regular joys of life for so long.

"How is Faith?" Ma asked. Why she asked, I don't know… but she seemed interested.

"Uh, she's okay. Handling things pretty well, you know." I answered uneasily.

"It's really nice of her to stop by as much as she does." Ma looked up at me as I nodded in agreement. "I like her." She finished.

"Yeah." I laughed. "Me too, Ma."

"Really?" Ma gave me "the eyebrow" and set down her fork, now seeming quite interested in what I had to say.

'Here we go,' I thought to myself. "You know what I mean. She's… She's my partner. It's been like that for almost thirteen years… She's there for me, ya know?" I stopped, realizing that I was mumbling as I tried to make sense of my thoughts. I didn't need to explain my friendship with Faith to my mom. I didn't. "She's Faith, Ma. You know how it is."

Ma stifled a chuckle and just shook her head at me. "Mmm Hmm. Sure, honey."

I decided to drop the subject.

I heard a knock on the door about five minutes later, right about when we were finishing up with dinner. Ma insisted on me not getting up, so she went ahead and answered the door as I moved over to the couch.

"Faith! How are you, honey?" I heard my enthusiastic mother call out to Faith as they hugged, doing their typical girl greeting. "Come on in, Maurice and I just finished with dinner."

"Thanks Rose." I saw Faith emerge from behind the door, smiling. I love when she smiles. "Hey Bos." She said, making her way over to the couch.

"Hey." I responded, not knowing what else to say. After that conversation with Ma, I wasn't all that… comfortable. I just kept smiling and acting like I wasn't bothered. I'm good at that.

All three of us sort of just looked around at nothing, trying to think of something to say for the next minute or so… It was awkward to say the least.

"I'm just going to leave you two to talk." Ma decided to speak up after what had seemed like an eternity of awkward silence.

"You don't have to go, Ma." I mock-protested.

She just smiled and approached me and gave me a hug and kiss. "I should really be going anyway. You two have fun, and it was nice seeing you again, Faith."

"You too, Rose. Take care."

After Ma had gathered her things and left, Faith turned and looked at me with a confused expression drawn on her face. "What was that about?" She asked.

I looked back over to the door where Ma had just previously exited through, myself a bit confused. "I'm not quite sure."

* * *

We talked about who knows what for about an hour. My Ma… How I was feeling physically… my want to get back on the job… just basic stuff.

"How are the kids?" I asked, having had enough conversation about myself.

"They're doing better I think. Things are starting to settle down more."

"That's good."

"Yeah… yeah, it is. I just wish I could get to see Charlie more often. I miss him so much, you know?" I could see a slight glistening of tears starting to brim her eyes, but being Faith, she quickly composed herself. I reached out my hand in efforts to comfort her, putting it gently on her shoulder. I knew how much she hated how Fred had gotten custody. It wasn't fair; it wasn't right…

"Whenever I see him, he always has these great stories of how Caroline has gotten him a new phone, or Caroline took him to a movie, or how Fred and her like to have "family nights"… Faith's voice had a slight falter in it, and her eyes were starting to well up again, but this time she didn't bother to try and hold them back.

"He really likes her, Bosco. I mean… I'm glad that he likes her because it makes him happy, but… but I mean… It's like…" Faith stopped herself mid-sentence, knowing that she didn't have the composure to finish her thought because of the emotion behind it.

"Faith," I gently rubbed her shoulder, trying to keep her attention on me, "She's not his mother. You are. Charlie knows that." I watched as a single tear rolled down her face as she looked at me, taking in what I was saying. "No one's gunna replace you, Faith. No one could ever replace you… Okay?" I reached up and gently brushed the tear from her face, and I suddenly came to realization how true my words were.

No one could ever replace Faith.

She managed a small smile on her part, placing her hand on my leg. "Thanks." She barely whispered. _**Every now and then, I guess I say the right thing...**_

"I don't know how I could get through this without you, Bos. I mean… the only thing that kept me from fallin' apart through the divorce was hoping… waiting for you to come out of that coma." She slightly faltered at her words, not seeming sure if she wanted to continue, but took a deep breath and finished, "You… you're the only one I can talk to about these things, ya know? You're the only person who has constantly, no matter what, been there for me; protected me… If you… If you had died that night Bos - "

I reached for Faith's trembling hand, taking it in my own, and eased her to stop and just take a deep breath. "I'm here." I said, gently squeezing her hand. "I'm right here, Faith." I gazed into her red, teary eyes, telling her that she could stop worrying. I was telling her with my eyes that I wasn't going anywhere.

Faith let go of my hand and leaned forward to embrace me in her arms. This whole hugging business… I could get used to it.

"Faith, I…" I wanted to tell her. More than anything, I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me. Even though I wasn't sure what was really going on with us, I knew that there was something. No matter how much I tried to find it in myself how I truly felt, the one thing I did knew was that it was something different. Something special.

Faith ended our embrace when I didn't say anything and leaned back to look at me. "What?" She asked, wanting me to finish. I still didn't speak, too scared of my own emotions. Faith continued sitting there next to me, with pleading eyes edging me to finish what I was saying. What _was_ I saying?

"…I just…uh…" I didn't know what to do; what to say; how to say it… I was panicked. "I want you to know… you can come to me anytime you need anything."

There. I covered it. I covered by telling her that I would be there for her anytime she needed me there… she already knew that.

Faith looked down at her hands, playing at her newly bare ring finger. She seemed almost… disappointed. "I know Bos."

**…And every now and then, the right thing to say just simply can't be said.**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks everyone for the great reviews! Keep them coming, they're greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The song used in this chapter is not mine. It is "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts.

Chapter 4

I was back again. Back in the haze, the fog, the darkness. I hated being there, but it came to me almost every night in my dreams… or should I say nightmares.

I was on the cold, hard floor not knowing what was going on. There were men… with guns… and they started shooting at us. Shooting at Faith… I had jumped in front of her to protect her… but had I? Was she okay? Faith…

The shooting continued for what seemed an eternity. I heard machine guns along with police fire. Who was winning? Was anyone hurt? I didn't understand why I couldn't get up and see for myself. I needed to be protecting them, I needed to draw my gun and finish this once and for all… But I couldn't move.

My head was spinning. The darkness that seemed to pull at my consciousness was messin' with my head, coming deeper within my mind. What was this? 'Get up, Boscorelli!' I kept tellin' my brain to move my body, but it's like there was a short-circuit… I was stuck.

I continued to lie there, unable to do anything except wait until someone… anyone could see that something wasn't right. I wasn't okay.

I realized that the noise had stopped. The shooting had stopped. Who won? Was Faith okay? I needed answers.

Suddenly I felt movement beneath my arm. It was Faith. She wriggled around mumbling something about the shooters… I didn't really care what she had said at that point, as long as she said something. She was okay. I had protected her.

"Bosco." **That** I comprehended. "Bosco?" She said with more concern this time, looking around to try and find me. 'I'm right here, Faith' I wanted to say. 'It's okay.'

I felt her gentle touch on my lifeless hand, still protectively draped around her side. As she noticed that I wasn't moving, she turned around, rolling me over on my back.

That's when the pain hit. The sharp pain radiating through my entire body. My leg, my stomach, my chest… My face.

"Bosco!" I heard the sheer panic in Faith's voice as she looked down at my torn body. Was it that bad? 'Faith, help me' I pleaded with her in my mind.

"Oh my God…" She was crying. "Oh my God!"

I wanted to tell her not to cry. I wanted to tell her that it was okay, I was fine… that it wasn't a big deal. But it was. I had been shot, I knew that much. I had been shot bad enough to the point that I couldn't move. I had to fight to even stay in this semi-conscious world that I was in. The darkness kept tugging at me, wanting to take me away so that I didn't hear the pain in Faith's voice, but I refused to give in. I needed to know what was going on around me… I couldn't give into this.

My head started throbbing more intensely as I heard the loud shrill of guns start up again. It wasn't over… It was far from over.

I felt myself being dragged by my shoulders into what must have been a separate room. It hurt so bad. I almost just wanted to die right there, leaving the pain behind forever… But I knew I couldn't let myself think that. I needed to stay strong. I needed to stay strong for Faith.

"I'll stay with him." Faith's voice rang out. She was going to stay with me while the shooters were loose… I wanted to tell her she was crazy. I wanted to yell at her and tell her to get the hell out of there… But I couldn't. All I could do was lie there listening to her desperate cries of panic.

"Hurry!" She yelled, ripping my spare gun from my left leg. 'It's okay, Faith.' I just kept saying that over and over in my mind, thinking that if I thought it enough, she would hear me. She rushed back over to my head, placing her hands on both of my cheeks, propping my head upward. "Don't do this, Bosco."

I couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort through all the pain, knowing that she was there with me. She brought my head onto her lap, stroking at my hair, almost choking on her own sobs. I felt like a failure. I felt like I should be doing something to comfort her… that's what I'm supposed to do: Be there for my partner… But then my logical side decided to kick in and tell me that of course there was nothing I could do. If there was, Faith wouldn't be upset and then I wouldn't have to worry about not being able to comfort her… It was an endless cycle.

I felt myself suddenly being pulled in a direction that I didn't want to go. It was getting darker. It just kept getting darker until I reached a point of complete numbness…

"Bos? Bosco, please, no." Faith quickly lowered my head back onto the hard floor, moving around to my side. I could feel her presence become very strong as she leaned down to my mouth to check my breathing… I wasn't.

Her cries becoming worse with every passing second, and she moved herself back up to a kneeling position beside me. I felt her hands meet my chest, firmly pumping down on it every second. "One, two, three…" She could barely get the numbers to pass her lips, trying to push back her emotions and stop crying. 'It's okay, Faith…'

Trying desperately to hang on and not let the darkness take me, I suddenly felt her hands leave my chest. There was someone else here. My mind was racing… Was it a shooter? Faith needed to get out of there… Had they come back to finish me off?

I faintly heard the familiar, yet not so soothing voice of Cruz, "Yokas…"

"He's not breathing…" Faith resumed giving me CPR after confirming that it wasn't the shooters that had entered the room, but someone there to help me. Every fifteen counts or so, she would lean down to my face, pressing her lips firmly around my mouth, breathing her own air into my lungs. She was my life at that moment…Faith is my life. She kept saying my name. "Bosco" She just kept sayin' it, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to answer her. "He's not breathing!"

Everything sort of blurred out after that. I was losing this fight. I could barely hold on any longer before this unknown force took me into the dark. I hate the dark…

I felt my body thump down of a softer surface… what must have been a bed of some sort, and quickly began to feel hands all around me, hooking me up to things, cutting at my shirt, putting a mask on my face…

'Faith' I felt her presence weaken as she left the room, yelling at Proctor for something. I wanted to tell her to come back, but I didn't even have to. As if she heard my silent call, I felt as she entered the room once again. The hazy sound of doctors and monitors and constant movement began to all blur together as I slipped into that other place. The place I didn't want to go.

"Clear!"

I woke up with a gasp, literally feeling the electric shock radiate through my stiff body. It felt so real, like I had gone back in time to the day of the shooting. Memories flashed through my mind as I sat myself up, trying to clear my head of all the intense pain. I hated going back there; back to the darkness that had almost taken me once before… but every time I closed my eyes, it seemed, I would be taken back to the nightmare of that day.

I blinked several times, trying to gain focus in my cloudy eyes, and turned to look at the clock. 11:42. I had only been asleep for an hour. That dream had seemed to last for an eternity, but in reality, I had only been asleep for an _hour_. How much more of this would come the next time I closed my eyes? How many nightmares would invade my mind in my next seven hours of sleep? I didn't want to find out.

Taking in a deep breath, I reached over to my side table, reaching for the phone. I immediately dialed her number and hoped that it wasn't too late for me to be calling.

"Hello?" I heard the somewhat drowsy voice of my best friend and immediately began to feel bad for calling.

"Faith?" My voice was drained. More broken and fragile than I ever thought it could be. It wasn't me.

"Bosco, what's wrong? You don't sound so good." Her tone immediately picked up when she found out that it was me who had called her. I guess she noticed the change in my voice, too.

"I'm sorry… I must have waken you. I'll let you go back to sleep, it's not a big deal."

"Bos, stop. You didn't wake me up, I just laid down five minutes ago. Tell me what's goin' on."

I should have known that Faith would drop anything to listen to me… Well, I guess I did know, I just didn't want to admit to myself that she could be there for me just like I'd always been there for her. I guess it made me feel weak.

"I just… I just need to talk to you."

"Bos, are you okay?" I could tell that she was becoming more concerned with everything I was saying. She was too concerned, and I didn't want her to worry about me.

"No… I mean yeah, it's nothin' like that." I tried to explain. "I've… uh… I've been havin' these nightmares… of… you know, that day." I stopped, not needing to say any more. I wanted to tell her how scared I had been; how I had wanted nothing more than to wake up and tell her I was ok. I wanted to tell her everything that had been going through my mind while I was lying lifeless on that cold floor, listening to her cry in terror for me… I wanted to tell her, but I couldn't.

"How long has this been goin' on?"

"Ever since I came home."

"Do you need me to come over? Just give me twenty minutes - "

"Faith," I cut her off, closing my eyes in shame, "You don't need to do that - "

"It's really no problem - "

"I just needed to talk to you, that's all…" Silence… Was she mad that I had waken her up for no reason? I felt so stupid, of course she was mad.

"I shouldn't have called. I'm sorry." With that, I hung up the phone.

* * *

What my problem was, I had no idea. I knew that I had called her because I needed to hear her voice. As lame as that may sound, it's the truth. I was up all that night thinking about why it was I had called her, and that's the conclusion that I came to.

After having sat up in bed for the past four hours, I decided to turn on the radio. Music had always helped me get to sleep when I was a kid, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out again. I reached over to the side table, clicking the "on" button and turned the knob trying to find a decent station. I hadn't listened to the radio in a long time.

When I finally got to a station I could handle, I laid myself back down on my bed and listened to the words of the music.

****

I set out on a narrow road many years ago hoping I would find true love along the broken road, but I got lost a time or two

'Great,' I thought, 'a love song'.

****

I wiped my brow and kept pushing through… I couldn't see how every sign pointed to you

My ears seemed to automatically tune into the soothing music as I continued to listen, being drawn in by the words. Love songs had never made much sense to me, but I was starting to like this one… It seemed to be speaking my language.

****

Every lost dream led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars pointing me on the way back to your loving arms

I opened my eyes, now staring up at the blank ceiling. Is this what I needed to hear? I knew that deep down, somewhere, it was like I, myself, was singing this song. I had been singing this song for a long time… I just had never let myself know it.

****

I think about the years I have spent just passing through. I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you

My mind was racing by then. What had I been waiting for all this time? Confirmation? Guarantees? Confidence? I had been battling with my emotions for as long as I could remember, not letting myself get too attached to anyone; not letting myself love anyone… But for as long as I could remember battling these feelings, Faith had been by my side, battling them with me.

****

But you just smiled and took my hand. You've been there, you understand

I picked myself up out of bed, throwing on a pair of pants and a sweat shirt, not even bothering to bandage up my face. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if she saw my scar, and I didn't care that it was five in the morning… I grabbed my keys and jacket and headed out the door.

****

It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks everyone for the great reviews! Keep them coming!

Chapter 5

I hesitantly knocked on the door a second time, uneasily knowing that I was waking her up. I patiently waited outside the door of her bare apartment until I finally heard the sound of the locks turning. 'This is it.'

The door opened slightly and I caught a glimpse of Faith's tired, yet intense blue eyes. My heart started beating faster in my chest and my stomach seemed to be eating away at itself. I was nervous.

"Bosco?" Her sleep-filled voice whispered my name in question. "Are you okay?"

"Uh…" I hesitated, glancing into her neat, warm apartment. "Can I come in?" I decided it was better not to say too much before I was inside and a little bit more at ease.

"Oh yeah, of course." Faith stepped aside, opening the door wider so I could pass through. The room smelled of cinnamon and ginger. It was real nice; very different.

I hastily made my way to the couch, not bothering to waste time with uneasy small talk. Once sitting, the turning of my stomach and the pounding of my chest seemed to calm. This was Faith, I didn't need to be nervous… but it wasn't like I was there to talk about just anything… this was worry-worthy stuff.

"Listen, Faith," I started, "I'm sorry for comin' by so early…" I paused, waiting for any kind of indication that she was understanding, hoping to God that she wasn't mad at me.

"It's no problem, Bos." She replied, hugging her robe tighter around herself as she sat next to me. "Bosco…" She wavered, "What is goin' on with you? First you call wanting to talk, and then randomly hang up, and now you show up here?"

"I know. I'm sorry." I lowered my head, staring down at the ground. "I said earlier that I needed to talk to you…" I ran my hands through my messy hair, shifting my weight. "I, um… I'm ready to talk now, okay?"

Faith simply nodded, understanding that this wasn't easy for me. She sat with her body turned and her right leg tucked underneath her so she was facing me, just waiting for me to start… no rush.

"I… uh… I've been havin' these nightmares.' I swallowed. "That day… that day in the hospital… it just keeps replayin' in my head." I stopped, taking in a deep breath to allow me to continue once again. "I just keep goin' back to that place. The men, the guns, the glass… it's like everything is so real, but my senses are a thousand times more intense… almost like slow motion. I was scared, Faith. Real scared. When I saw them start shootin', my first instinct was to pull you out of the way." I finally looked up at her, needing to show her that what I was saying was the truth. "I mean, I don't wanna sound like a hero or anything, 'cause I'm not… It happened so fast, ya know? It was instinct… But you know, I've been thinking'. I've been wonderin' _why_ it was instinct for me to throw myself in front of you."

Faith was still looking at me intently as I told her only the surface of what was going through my mind.

"Bos," She whispered, placing her hand on mine. She knew what I was trying my best to say. She always does… I took another deep breath, my heart nearly bursting out of my chest, and kept going.

"You're my partner, Faith. No matter if we're both sitting in 55-David, or if I'm in a hospital bed and you're working' as a detective… We'll always be partners, ya know?" Faith nodded, gently smiling at the statement.

"Of course."

"And partners means protecting each other no matter what. That's what I've been telling' myself since the day I woke up in the hospital. I just kept sayin' to myself that that's why I did it. To protect my partner; my best friend…" I swallowed hard, trying to calm down my nerves. She wasn't saying anything… was that good? Bad? I didn't know, but whatever it meant, I knew that I had to finish what I came there to say. I was almost there.

Laying my opposite hand on top of hers, I gently stroked it with my thumb. "But I've realized…" I looked away, trying to fight the feeling of uncertainty about what I was doing. Was this really me? Was I, Maurice Boscorelli, really having this conversation? A year before, I would have said Hell no… there was no way I would ever have opened up like this to anyone… not even Faith… But having almost died made me realize I can't put things off all the time anymore. I'd come to realize that there is no guarantee for tomorrow.

"I…"

"Bosco,"

"You're the only one for me." I squeezed her hand tighter, "You've always been the only one why has stayed with me and helped me when I needed it…"

"Bos…" Faith slid her hand out from between mine and brought it up, softly touching the right side of my face… the scar that I hadn't bothered to cover up… and gently stroked my cheek with her fingertips. A chill crept up my spine and I couldn't help but close my eyes at her comforting touch. I felt myself slowly leaning into her, and the nervousness began to fade as I realized that this was it. This was the moment that I had been waiting for, for thirteen years.

Lifting my own hand to take hold of Faith's, I leaned in to kiss her, but in a sudden, sharp motion, she snapped back, turning her head away from mine.

'Damn it' I immediately regretted even going there, knowing for sure that she had pulled away from me because she thought I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy… falling for my partner? …Maybe I was just crazy…

Looking into her face, I realized that she was staring at the door with a slight fear in her eye. She hadn't pulled away because she thought me crazy… She had pulled away at the unpleasant voice of her ex-husband…

* * *

Fred stood in the doorway, just staring at us. His eyes were as big as golf balls, I swear, but he didn't move.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" He practically yelled.

"Fred, what the hell are you doing?" Faith retaliated.

"I should be asking _you_ that!" He yelled again, getting angrier as the realization of things began to settle in.

"How the hell did - "

"I used my key, Faith! I told you yesterday I was comin' by this morning to pick up some of Charlie's things! And you… you greet me with _this_!"

"Fred!"

Faith got up off the couch, walking towards her angry ex. I quickly followed, making sure I was close enough to prevent anything from happening if Fred decided to do anything stupid.

"Boscorelli, I should have known you'd be here!" He yelled, and I gently took Faith's arm, moving her slightly farther away from him. He focused his eyes back on Faith, seeming ready to explode. "What, are you screwin' him now?"

What the hell did he think he was doing? Barging into her apartment, then blaming her for cheating when he was the one who had cheated in the first place… It was enough to get me really pissed off. I pushed myself in front of Fred, now staring fiercely into his eyes, ready to kick his ass, but the better part of me held me back…for the time being…

"You son of a bitch, Fred. What the hell makes you think you can just come barging in here and start accusing Faith of things that _you've_ already done?" I said with a strained voice, trying my best not to get into a yelling match with him.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Bosco. You know I'll do it, I've done it before."

The room went to silence, and I felt a lump in my throat forming as Faith looked at me with confusion drawn all over her face. "What?" She whispered angrily to Fred, glaring at him.

"What? Bosco never told you?" He replied with his sarcastic tone, "Yeah, the day you were shot, Bosco here insisted on checking in with me on how you were doin'. Son of a bitch didn't even fight back."

Faith just stood there, unmoving. I hadn't ever told her about that night and I hadn't planned on it… It wasn't anything she had needed to know.

Fred continued to stand there with a little smirk on his face, thinking he had defeated me. His eyes were pinned on Faith, waiting for any kind of sign of rout, but she just stood there, contained.

"You need to leave, Fred." I said as calmly as I could. I didn't want to do anything I would regret in front of Faith. I just wanted him gone, before he could do any more damage.

"You gunna make me?" He asked, violently. "Go ahead, Bosco, make my day." He continued to coax me, but I refused.

"I'm not gunna fight you, Fred." I said firmly, keeping my stare on his face.

"Yeah? Well I wish I could say the same." At that, Fred took a sudden lunge at me, pulling me to the ground with a hard crash. The pain radiated through my chest and stomach as I felt the recent bullet wounds re-surface. It was enough to almost paralyze me long enough for Fred to take a good strong punch to the right side of my face.

"Bosco!" Faith's voice called out, and I was back again if not only for an instant. _Me lying unmoving on the ground, Faith calling out my name… The pain…_

"Fred, get the hell out of here before I call the police!" Faith yelled, full-force at Fred, while kneeling down beside me, bringing my head onto her lap.

"The police, huh?" He said, "_This_ cop seemed to do much good of getting me out of here!"

"GET OUT!" Faith screamed, almost in tears.

Fred, getting the picture, made his way back over to the door, but still looking at me on the ground. "Your face has never looked better, Bosco."

With that, he left.

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the big delay in chapters! I sort of forgot about this fic... looks around This is the last chapter. Thank you all for all the amazing reviews! I hope this last chapter wraps things up for you! Enjoy!

**Chapter 6**

"Faith, are you okay?" I tried to ask, my speech severely slurred from the blow to my jaw.

"Shut up, Bos." She replied, helping me to my feet. She brought me over to the couch and we both sat down. My hand was protectively covering the right side of my face, feeling around to make sure nothing was out of place or bleeding. Son of a bitch really nailed me.

Faith put her hand up to my face and delicately touched my swelling jaw. I immediately winced at her touch, feeling the pain shoot through my entire face again. "God, Bos, it's already starting to bruise." She said with concern, gently cupping my chin in her hand, slightly turning my head so she could see better. I didn't understand how she could tell there was a bruise underneath my already disfigured, discolored scar, but she managed. "Let me go get you some ice." She posed to stand up, but I reflexively shot out my hand, grabbing her arm so she couldn't go anywhere.

"I'm okay." I said, trying to cease her worrying. She reluctantly sat back down next to me, knowing that I was going to be stubborn about this.

Not believing that I was okay, she looked sternly at me, quickly lowering her eyes in anger. "Fred, you son of a bitch." She said angrily to herself. I hated seeing her like this. Torn between hating Fred and keeping things neutral for the sake of her kids. If it were me, I would just kill the bastard…

"You should probably get a new lock." I said, trying to get the focus of concern off of me.

"Yeah," She replied, looking over at the door. I was surprised she hadn't done so already. It wasn't all that uncharacteristic of Fred to barge in like that… I figured Faith would have foreseen that.

"Bosco…" She turned back facing me, "What was he talking about?"

The lump in my throat reformed as she spoke the words. The last thing I wanted to get into was what had happened that night with Fred, but I knew Faith wasn't going to let it go.

"It's nothing, Faith. He was just over-exaggerating." I said, hoping, but knowing that it wouldn't answer her question well enough for her to drop the subject.

"What happened that day, Bos?" She persisted. "What did he do?"

I gazed at her for a moment, wondering if maybe I _should_ tell her, but quickly deciding otherwise. I slowly picked myself up off the couch and stood unmoving in front of Faith. I kept my stare on her, still sitting down in defeat. She looked so broken… but so beautiful.

"I should go." I said softly.

"Bosco, please." Faith raised herself up, meeting my stare. We were so close… Her eyes were intense, almost burning holes in mine as she pleaded with me not to leave. Not yet.

I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, taking in her sweet scent, and quickly disappeared.

I shut the door behind me, leaving Faith in morbid confusion. I started to walk away, towards the doors to the apartment building, but the guilt kept pressing down on me. How could I just leave her there? She deserved to know what happened, I just didn't want to tell her. That wasn't fair, and I knew it.

I immediately turned around and headed right back up to her door. I knew I couldn't just leave things the way they were. I had done that one too many times before.

I got up to her door, and raised my hand to knock, when I heard a familiar voice coming from inside the apartment.

"He wanted to see you."

Emily.

"He was so worried about you and just wanted to know if you were alright, and Dad went nuts." She explained. I hadn't realized that Emily had been there, 'sleeping'. I should have known that she would tell Faith what happened. She had been there, watching the whole thing.

"What did he do?" Faith's voice faintly spoke out.

"He grabbed Bosco and threw him up against a window… I thought either Dad was going to throw him out the window, or Bosco was going to take a good punch at him, and easily get away. I know that Bosco could take out Dad any time of day… but he didn't. He didn't even struggle, Mom." There was a slight pause, and I waited for Faith to say something; anything, but nothing came, so Emily continued. "I kept yelling at Dad to stop it, but he didn't. He threw Bosco to the ground and punched him hard in the face… and Bosco just took it. He even got up from off the ground, holding his face, and told Dad that he was sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" Faith asked in confusion.

"For hurting you."

I walked into the room, watching as Fred and Emily held each other in grievance of Faith. The pain that image caused was more than anything I had ever felt… I had caused this family to break; I had caused all this pain, and knowing that hurt me deeply.

"Fred?" I softly cut in. I saw the harsh look on Fred's face as he slowly let go of Emily and turned his head to look at me, the man who has done this to his wife. "Have you heard anything?" I said with the only intention of getting a straight answer. I needed to know. "Is she still in surgery?" I asked. I had to know how she was. I had to know if Faith was alright; it was all I cared about, but Fred didn't budge. "Is she alright?" I kept going as Fred just continued to stand, glaring at me, having no intention of answering. "Emi?" I shifted my sight over to a scared Emily, standing behind her father. I was pleading by then. Pleading to Emily, the only one who knew how much Faith meant to me.

Fred instinctively shifted his weight, stepping in front of his daughter and turned completely facing me. "What happened to her?" He asked, accusingly.

"Look, Fred," I started, reluctant to have to explain things this way, "It's best I don't say too much right now. Not until I talk to her."

Fred's glare intensified as he was unsatisfied with my answer. "How did my wife get shot with you when she was supposed to be workin' inside?" He asked as he started moving closer to me, becoming more and more impatient with my un-informing answers.

"I'm taking care of it, Fred," I met his glare, almost pleading with him just to trust me in saying that I had everything under control. "Don't worry about it." I said with a slight change in my voice. He needed to know that I was serious. I was going to fix all of this, whatever that meant.

Fred shifted uncomfortably, "Don't worry about it?" He nearly whispered, "What about my daughter, Bosco?" He moved aside, placing Emily in plain view. She looked so scared and so confused. He was right, and I knew it. I knew that they wouldn't just take me saying 'I'll take care of it' without a second thought. "She's pretty worried about it. What am I supposed to tell her?"

I took a second, knowing that I couldn't do that to Emily. They needed to know. "Look, Fred, alright?" I started, reluctant to have to tell them this, "I was in a jam, and she was helpin' me - "

Before I could even finish, Fred lunged at me, grabbing at my collar. "You son of a bitch." Fred flung me around, and I heard Emily scream in terror.

"Daddy!"

He violently shoved me up against the window, breaking the glass. I kept hearing Emily's screams for Fred to stop, and Sully's protests, but he kept on, and I didn't bother to fight back. I deserved it.

"It's always you!" Fred yelled, throwing me to the floor. "Always!" With that, he took all the strength he had left into slamming his fist into the left side of my face, sending himself tumbling over along with me at the force of the blow.

"Daddy, stop it!" Emily kept yelling, but it took Sully to peel him off of me.

"Let go of me!" Fred yelled, struggling to get away from Sully's grasp to get another shot at me. I stayed on the ground, feeling the throbbing sensation take over my entire left side as the scene continued on around me.

"You're done!" Sully was now yelling at Fred, who was still fighting to get away. Regardless to Fred's incessant struggling and screaming, Sully managed to push Fred stomach first into the wall, much like one would do to a perp on the streets.

"Let go of me!" Fred continued to protest as Emily kept pleading with her father to stop.

Sully grabbed at Fred's right arm, twisting it behind him. "Hand behind your back."

Fred would have none of it, and turned as well as Sully would let him, looking at me. "You leave my family alone!" He screamed. Sully took him by the collar and slammed him back against the wall, fed up with his resisting.

"Shut up!" He yelled, finally getting Fred's attention. "Now if you wanna be here to see Faith when she gets out of surgery, you are gunna take a deep breath, and you are gunna back off!"

Fred continued to just stand still, letting Sully push him against the wall every couple seconds as he finished his threats. Grabbing Fred, and turning him around to face himself, Sully forced Fred's back against the wall, pointing an accusing finger in his face, "Because if you don't, you're gunna spend the rest of tonight in lockup!"

Fred continued to remain silent, starting to understand the severity of what he had just done, and listened to Sully as he yelled. "You hear me!"

Fred simply nodded, and Sully lowered his finger, both of them taking deep breaths.

I started to pull myself together and pick myself up from the ground, my face still throbbing. Sully, now having Fred somewhat under control, turned around to look at me. "You okay, Bosco?" he asked. I just continued to pull myself up, and taking a couple needed deep breaths, I dismissed the question, and looked once again at Fred.

"I'm sorry, Fred." I turned around, knowing my place wasn't there, and started to walk away, when I heard his sadistic voice call out one last time.

"You come near my family again, Bosco, I'll kill you." His tone was calm, almost that of someone who had a murder plan already mapped out. He was serious, and I knew that one hundred percent.

"Hey," Sully pushed him, once again, "Fred, You're done."

I turned around, this time, and looked straight into his eyes, showing him that I wasn't afraid of him. All I cared about was Faith, and he knew that. He knew it damn well.

"You hear me? I'll kill you."

By that time, I was still standing in front of the door, but with no intention of going in. My head was bowed in humiliation, and I was blankly staring at my feet. Emily had said it. She had hit the nail on the head… something that even I couldn't do.

Still standing stationary right outside of her apartment, I heard the door handle turning, and before I could do anything about it, Faith was standing in front of me, staring at my unmoving form.

I slowly looked up from my ground stare, seeing Faith's teary eyes.

"I… I was coming to get you." She said, wiping quickly at her eyes. "Emily told me everything." She continued, waiting for a response from me. I simply nodded, indicating that I had heard everything, and Faith nodded back, telling me she knew that I knew. I didn't know what to do at that point. I was humiliated and disappointed in myself for just leaving like I had… so I just stood there, waiting for Faith to make the next move. It was either that, or leave again, and I wasn't about to make a fool of myself and storm off a second time.

And she did make the next move.

Stepping in closer to me, she stared intensely into my eyes, our faces not an inch away… and she kissed me. I felt her soft lips meet mine, and gently, yet passionately, she kissed me. It was the last thing I had ever expected Faith to ever do… _I_ was the one wanting so desperately wanting to kiss her, _I_ was the one who had all these hidden feelings stored up inside me… _I_ was the one who loved Faith… Yet… _She_ kissed _me_.

Bringing my hand up to her neck, I ran my fingers through her silky hair as I kissed her back. I had never kissed anyone with so much meaning; so much passion before. Faith was the only one. At that moment, all the fears and confusion and doubt I had been having were completely diminished. Faith was it. She was the one… and I loved her more than any man could ever love a woman… and I told her that through my kiss.

She gently pulled away, and looked me straight in the eyes, with a light smile creeping up her face. "Me too."

****

God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you

The End


End file.
